Do Entrepreneurs Need More Co-working Spaces?
Is starting a space viable now with COVID-19 & existing spaces OR is there room to be as abundant as a Starbucks on every street?
I've had discussions recently with entities in different cities looking to launch a "space". Entrepreneurs are not office-less. However, when a business is starting, a co-working space is helpful.
When I launched my business around ten years ago, there were no co-working spaces available like today. During the early days of the business in Beirut (before expanding to Dubai), I systematically tried coffee shops to short-list two that had a decent Internet connection. When one connection went down, I used to pack up my things and head to the next coffee shop on my list. The team grew quickly and it was not practical for us to work in a coffee shop, so we moved into a conference room I borrowed from a loving family member while we setup in parallel a new office space (we had to do all of the fittings, Internet, furniture,...). As the business grew, we opened an office in Dubai where it was definitely much easier to set up an office. If starting a business today, I'd start in a co-working space, ideally close to my home. However, as a business advisor, I question the revenue of having a space on every street